• Login
  • Register
  • FAQ
  • Contact Us
  • Home
  • Documents
  • Activities
  • Activity Tools
    • All Tools
    • Analyzing Documents
    • Discussion Topic
    • Compare and Contrast
    • Zoom/Crop
    • White Out / Black Out
    • Spotlight
    • Finding a Sequence
    • Making Connections
    • Mapping History
    • Seeing the Big Picture
    • Weighing the Evidence
    • Interpreting Data
  • Popular Topics
    • See All
    • National History Day
    • The Constitution
    • Sports: All-American
    • Rights in America
    • American Indians
    • Women's Rights
    • American Revolution
    • The Civil War
    • World War I
    • World War II
    • The Vietnam War
    • 1970s America
    • Congress
    • Amending America
    • Elections
    • What Americans Eat
    • Signatures
    • Nixon and Ford Years
  • Resources
    • Getting Started
    • Document Analysis
    • Activity-Creation Guide
    • Manage Assignments
    • iPad App
    • Presentation Materials
    • Webinars
      • Recorded Webinars
      • Live Webinars
MENU
DocsTeachThe online tool for teaching with documents, from the National Archives National Archives Foundation National Archives

Petition of Kate T. F. Cornell Praying for the Removal of her Political Disabilities

2/7/1878

Print
Add to Favorites:
Add
Saving document...
Your document has been saved.
Add all page(s) of this document to activity:
1
2
Add only page 1 to activity:
Add only page 2 to activity:

In this petition to Congress, Kate Cornell requests a relief from her political disabilities. This petition was part of a petition drive organized by the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) calling for a constitutional amendment that would give women the right to vote. The petition closely follows a template provided by NWSA (an example of this type is the Petition of Dr. Clemence Lozier). The organization encouraged women to personalize their messages to Congress by including their personal reasons for desiring the the right to vote. In her petition, Kate Cornell argues that women have been oppressed by man-made laws and that women should have a voice in making laws. She also expresses a desire to have a say in what is done with the taxes she pays.

This petition was referred to to the Committee on the Judiciary in the House of Representatives on February 7, 1878. On January 10, 1878 Senator Aaron Sargent first introduced the joint resolution for an amendment to the Constitution that would ultimately extend the right to vote to women as the 19th Amendment, 42 years later. Petitions like this one from Kate Cornell show how women exercised their rights to bring about change in the decades-long fight for the right to vote.


Show/Hide Transcript

Transcript

Petition of Mrs. Kate T F Cornell
Alexandria, Jan. 4th 1878
For the Relief From Political Disabilities

To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States in Congress assembled, Mrs. Kate T. F. Cornell a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the State of Nebraska, County of Thayer, Town of Alexandria, Hereby respectfully petition your honorable body for the removal of her political disabilities, and that she may be declared invested with full power to exercise her right of self-government at the ballot-box, all state constitutions or statute laws to the contrary notwithstanding.

I claim that we have been oppressed in the past by man-made laws and that as we have to be subject to the laws of our Country it would be just and right that we should have a voice in making them. I pay tax, and am not satisfied with what is done with the money. I hold it is my god-given right to say what shall be done with my earnings I have sighned [sic] the Sixteenth amendment to the Federal Constitution prohibiting the Several States from disfranchising United States Citizens on account of sex.

Mrs. Kate T F Cornell



Petition
of
Kate T. F. Cornell
a citizen of
Alexandria
Thayer Co.
Nebraska
Praying for the removal
of her political disabilities.
Hon. Frank Welch
Feby 7 1878
Referred to the Committee on
the Judiciary.
Judy
This primary source comes from the Records of the U.S. House of Representatives.
National Archives Identifier: 117874773
Full Citation: Petition of Kate T. F. Cornell, of Alexandria, Thayer County, Nebraska, Praying for the Removal of her Political Disabilities; 2/7/1878; Petitions and Memorials, Resolutions of State Legislatures, and Related Documents Which Were Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary during the 45th Congress; Petitions and Memorials, 1813 - 1968; Records of the U.S. House of Representatives, Record Group 233; National Archives Building, Washington, DC. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/petition-of-kate-t-f-cornell-suffrage, January 30, 2023]
Return to ResultsReturn

Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions. Learn more on our privacy and legal page.

  • Explore Primary Source Documents
  •  
  • Discover Activities You Can Teach With
  •  
  • Create Fun & Engaging Activities
Follow us on Twitter:twitter
Follow us on Facebook:facebook
Please enter a valid email address

View our webinars:youtube

Get our iPad app:apple
New Documentsshare
New Activitiesshare

The National Archives

DocsTeach is a product of the National Archives education division. Our mission is to engage, educate, and inspire all learners to discover and explore the records of the American people preserved by the National Archives.

The National Archives and Records Administration is the nation's record keeper. We save documents and other materials created in the course of business conducted by the U.S. Federal government that are judged to have continuing value. We hold in trust for the public the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights — but also the records of ordinary citizens — at our locations around the country.
  • All Education Programs
  • Student Visits
  • Distance Learning
  • Professional Development
  • National Archives Museum
  • Presidential Libraries
  • Archives.gov
  • National Archives Foundation




Creative Commons License

Except where otherwise noted, DocsTeach is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Primary source documents included on this site generally come from the holdings of the National Archives and are in the public domain, except as noted. Teaching activities on this site have received the CC0 Public Domain Dedication; authors have waived all copyright and related rights to the extent possible under the law. See our legal and privacy page for full terms and conditions.